DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Karen Read, her family, and her legal team appeared in Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham Thursday, asking a judge to order the state to return Read’s phones that were seized by police nearly two years ago during an investigation into whether Read was witness tampering.
In June 2025, a jury found Read not guilty of second degree murder in the death of John O’Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, whose body was found on another officer’s lawn in Canton in January 2022. Prosecutors argued Read hit and killed O’Keefe with her SUV, then left him to die in a snowstorm. She was convicted on the lesser charge of operating under the influence.
Despite her acquittal, her family claims the District Attorney is still unfairly coming after her.
“This is an act of vengeance towards our daughter,” said Karen’s father Bill Read.
In court Thursday, Read’s Defense Attorney, Ben Urbelis, argued that police were allowed to take Read’s phones during the investigation two years ago, but they did not get a warrant to extract its data. The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office wanted Read’s two iPhones to search for evidence that she sent information to an online blogger.
“While Ms. Read was under indictment for murder, in January of 2024, the Commonwealth sought and was granted a warrant to seize, not to search, her cell phones,” said Read’s Defense Attorney, Ben Urbelis.
Urbelis said the District Attorney tried and failed to get a grand jury to indict her on the witness tampering charge in March 2024, so they are now going after data from phones she used after her arrest.
Judge Peter Krupp recently denied the state’s request to search Read’s two phones, but the special prosecutor hired to investigate Read’s witness tampering case said he wants time to appeal that decision. He argued giving Read the phones back could be damaging to the legal process.
“The chain of custody is destroyed, and there is no guarantee as to the security of the information on those cell phones,” Cosgrove said.
“I think we put forth everything that we could,” Read’s Defense Attorney, Ben Urbelis, said outside court Thursday. “We made our argument in court, I believe Ms. Read’s been entitled to her cell phones. The prosecution’s filed a last minute motion to stay Judge Krupp’s decision to deny the search warrant. They filed that yesterday. It’s been two years, so we’re hoping that Judge Doolin carefully considers our arguments and our filings, and orders the phones be returned immediately.”
Judge Mike Doolin took the matter under advisement.
Read had no comment outside of court.
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